Sophocles' play Oedipus Rex

A detailed Summary of Sophocles' play Oedipus Rex

Sophocles' play Oedipus Rex is the third play in a trilogy telling the extended story of a Greek ruling family. The ability to see things as they really are is a recurring issue for Oedipus, who eventually becomes King. To emphasize Oedipus' ability to see things only as he wanted to see them, Sophocles used the metaphor of vision vs. blindness throughout the play.

Interpreting the concept of vision literally, those who can see have eyes that function properly and a brain that can accurately interpret the information the person's eyes send to it. People can have a "vision of the future" in the form of either personal goals or grander plans, such as world peace. Likewise, a person can be literally blind, unable to physically see. Blindness can also mean something more psychological, such as in the saying "love is blind," meaning that when we are in love we may tune out serious flaws in the person we love.

Today, psychologists would say that Jocasta was rationalizing, but in fact, if Oedipus did kill his father and then marry his mother, arguably Jocasta's actions were even more serious than his, because she attempted to kill her own three-day-old infant as well. Both Oedipus and Jocasta have good reason to remain blind to the truth, but Oedipus prefers a clear vision of the events. When he realizes the truth, he cannot live with what has happens, and blinds himself.

Jocasta suspects the truth, but tries to keep Oedipus from seeing it also. She argues that he should not worry about whether he has inadvertently fulfilled the prediction, saying that if it were true, and the gods wanted him to know that, they would not leave them guessing, but make the facts abundantly clear aE" highly visible aE" to him:

"But - as it was reported - one day foreign robbers

Wants others to find out, he will by himself unmistakably reve

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 623
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Arts

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